Well I'll Be Damned
by beccablue64
Summary: RPF inspired by one of Norman Reedus' IG posts of him on the Walker Stalker cruise. Slow burn, but if you've read my other stories, you know sexy time is inevitable.
1. Chapter 1

**Well I'll Be Damned**

 **After that beautiful pic that Norman posted in IG from the Walker Stalker Cruise, I could not get this out of my head.**

 **I do not own NR as much as I wish I did.**

Chapter 1

"Jeez, Chase, I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Chloe said.

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun," Chase replied. "You used to do fun shit like this all the time, remember?"

"I think our ideas of fun have drastically changed over the years," she said. "Tell me, what is going to be fun about working on my one weekend off, bartending on a damn cruise ship?"

Chase had begged and pleaded with Chloe to come with him on this weekend cruise. It was a fan convention for The Walking Dead. Chase had volunteered to work the event and thought his best friend could use some excitement in her life. Plus, he was a huge fan of the show and needed Chloe around to make sure he didn't embarrass himself too much. She had turned into his voice of reason as they had gotten older.

The pair was standing in line waiting to board the ship. Chloe was already regretting her decision to come. She had a full time job as an analyst with an insurance company and tended bar on the weekends at a sports bar. The owner of the bar had given her the weekend off. All she had planned was to relax and watch the big Duke/UNC basketball game. But alas, Chase had this harebrained idea and shot those plans all to hell.

"If you pulled that stick out of your ass, you might actually get laid this weekend," Chase said to her.

"Fuck you," Chloe said. "I'll let you know, I'm perfectly happy with my relationship status."

"What relationship status? You haven't had a relationship since the dinosaurs roamed the earth," Chase poked her in her side.

Chloe rolled her eyes and punched her friend in the arm.

"Chase, I don't watch the show. I have no desire to watch it. I don't know who any of these people are. Now if you had brought me to a True Blood cruise, then I would be excited," Chloe said. They had moved only 2 feet in the past 20 mins.

"You and your vampires," Chase said shaking his head. "Vampires are SO last season."

"Oh bite me," Chloe responded in annoyance.

Chloe and Chase were so wrapped up in their conversation and annoying each other, they weren't paying attention to the people around them, especially the man standing behind them, hiding behind his Ray Bans. He had been listening to everything they'd said, smirking at the exchange, almost laughing out loud a couple of times.

"You'll probably recognize some of the actors," Chase said as they took a few more steps forward. "You liked The Boondock Saints. One of the guys from that will be here."

The man behind them was really paying attention now.

"Sean Patrick Flannery's going to be here? I didn't know he was in The Walking Dead," Chloe said.

"No, not him, the other one," Chase clarified.

"Oh, eh," Chloe said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Now that stung! The man standing behind him hung his head down and shook it. _I am SO glad Sean was not around to hear that,_ he thought to himself. _I would never hear the end of it._

Norman had been standing in line to board the ship along with everyone else. No one had really paid attention to him as everyone was in their own little worlds. He was glad no one had recognized him yet. He was exhausted. He had just spent a week in Hawaii filming for the second season of his motorcycle travel show, Ride. He had caught a flight to Miami and was now waiting to board a ship for a 3 day cruise that will include interview panels, photo ops, meet & greets, etc. No, this wasn't going to be a nice, relaxing cruise. He was pretty much working the whole weekend.

He had been focused on an intense game of Candy Crush when the two people standing in front of him starting arguing, well, not really arguing as in a couple's fight, more arguing like siblings. The woman obviously didn't want to be here. Norman couldn't help but stare at her. She had long brown hair with red in it that shone bright when the sun hit it. There was really nothing that made her stand out in the crowd, but for some reason, Norman couldn't stop staring. She had an amazing smile that lit up her whole face when her friend said something that made her laugh. He loved a pretty smile.

When he heard them talking about his movie, The Boondock Saints, and her comment about is co-star, and best bud, Sean, he knew then that he had to have her. Call it a pride thing. He and Sean always had some sort of competition going on.

After what seemed like a day and a half, they finally made it onto the ship. Norman was quickly escorted to a level of the ship that had been reserved for the actors. There was security all around to ensure their privacy. He loved his fans and most of them were very nice and respectful. But every now and then he would meet one that would cross that line.

He entered his suite and put his bag in the bedroom. He laid on the bed thinking he might actually get a nap in before the first interview panel started at 7:00. He started to fidget though. His body was still on Pacific coast time. He decided to head to the bar for a drink to relax him. Maybe he'd see the woman from before and strike up a conversation.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chloe went to the bar that she would be working at. It was your typical cruise bar, bright colors that made her eyes hurt. _Could they not afford a decent decorator?_ She thought to herself. Ian, the promoter was giving the bartenders and wait staff the tour of the place and going over the rules.

Chloe was behind the bar, getting familiar with the layout. The servers were in the back making sure everything was stocked and ready to go. The bar was open, but it was still early and guests were still boarding the ship. No one was in there except for a couple of volunteers every now and then.

Chase came in to see how everything was going and give Chloe the run down of events.

"So tonight is the interview panel with Norman, Jeff and Greg," Chase took a seat at the far end of the bar.

"Like that's supposed to mean something to me?" Chloe said as she put pint glasses away.

She saw someone come in out of the corner of her eye and take a seat towards the middle of the bar.

"Look Chase, I know this is your thing, but I'm not all excited about having to serve a bunch of pompous actors that think they deserve the sun and moon just because they make more money than most of us would ever see in our lifetimes," Chloe said as she made her way towards her one customer.

"What can I get for you," she asked.

"Uh, just a Corona," the man said.

She reached into the cooler and grabbed a bottle. Popping the top off, she handed him his beer.

"Did you want to start a tab?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said. He had intended to get just one beer and head back to his room. But after her comment, he decided to stick around and have a little fun.

"Name?" she asked typing into the system.

"Pompous actor," he replied with a grin.

Chloe was startled. She could feel her face turn three different shades of red. Chase was laughing so hard at the end of the bar he almost fell off the stool.

"Uh, um, I didn't, uh, mean, um," she was stuttering, trying to get out an apology.

"It's ok, sweetheart," Norman chuckled. "There are in fact people in the business that are like that."

"And I'm sure you are nothing like that," she asked.

"Of course," he said with a grin. "I'm Norman." He leaned over the bar and held his hand out.

"Riight, like I'm gonna believe that one," she said shaking his hand. "And did you just call me 'sweetheart'?"

"Uh, yeah," Norman said. "Something wrong with being called 'sweetheart'?"

"I don't think 'sweetheart' has the same effect on a 42 year old as it would a 22 year old," she said.

"For starters, there is NO way you're 42," Norman began. "And secondly, what should I call you then?"

"Yes, I am 42," Chloe replied. "And you can call me Chloe." She pointed over to Chase who was still laughing like a hyena. "That dork over there is Chase."

Chase got up and moved over to sit on the stool beside Norman.

"Big fan," Chase said as he shook Norman's hand.

"Thanks," Norman replied.

"So now that we've both offended each other, can we call it even?" Norman asked, still grinning.

"I don't know, I do have another foot I can put in my mouth at any given moment," Chloe said giving him a smile. Her face was now only a light shade of red.

"Same here," Norman said drinking his beer.

"She's really not this much of a bitch," Chase interjected. "She used to be a lot of fun back in the day."

"Chase, shut it or I will shut it for you," Chloe said glaring at her friend.

"Nah, it's cool," Norman said. He finished and paid for his beer. "Maybe I'll see around."

"I'll be holding my breath," Chloe said as she picked up his empty bottle and tossed it in the trash.

"You were SO flirting with him," Chase said as soon as Norman was out the door.

"I was not," Chloe replied.

"You smiled at him. To you, that's flirting. You don't smile at anyone," Chase said.

Norman returned to his room. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep now. Officially meeting Chloe had gotten him all worked up. She was definitely a smartass and he liked that. He went out on the private balcony of his room. He lied back in the chair, absorbing the sunshine. Yeah, this was going to be an interesting weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chloe was resting in her cabin before her next shift. The whole ship was on the top deck at one of the interview panels so she didn't have to be back at the bar until 10:00. She was glad she did get stuck working the poolside bar. That place would be a madhouse now. Chase had begged her to go to the panel, but she declined. She didn't feel like being herded around with a bunch of drunks then have to work 'til God knows when.

She thought about her embarrassing encounter earlier that day. She broke the cardinal rule and Googled Norman Reedus once she got back to her room. He was pretty hot, she'd give him that. She couldn't really see his face in the bar with his hat and sunglasses on. But she also saw the types of women that he usually went for. _Yeah, you're not like all those other celebrities, my ass._ She thought to herself. _All she saw on his arm were models and/or bimbos. Typical. Looks like he also did the classic cliché of sleeping around with co-stars._ Chloe rolled her eyes and shut down her laptop. She tried to sleep for a bit, but the constant loud, high-pitched screams from the top deck kept grating on her nerves.

She decided to shower and get ready for her shift. She would go in early and piddle around until things got busy. She was hoping to have a few hours off the next day to watch the basketball game. Chloe was a true Tarheel fan and their games with Duke were always the biggest games of the year, even bigger than tournament games.

Norman had a pretty good buzz going on. Random shots kept making their way up on the stage for him, Jeff and Greg to take. This wasn't like the panels at other conventions. He didn't think he heard an actual question the whole time. Basically it was a bunch of shit talking and joking around. He was ready to go, the bright stage lights were starting to make his head hurt, along with the shots of whiskey and tequila.

When the panel was finally over, he went back to his room. It was still early, but he was beat. He showered and was ready to crawl into bed when his phone started buzzing.

"Hey man, you coming down?" It was Jeff. He had said that they were going to the bar afterwards. Norman didn't give a definite answer on whether or not he'd be joining them.

"Nah, think I'm gonna stay in tonight," Norman said with a yawn.

"Alright man, your loss," Jeff said. "Chandler's DJ'ing. Plus your little bartender is working."

And with that Norman quickly changed out of his pajama pants and was out the door.

The bar wasn't too terribly packed. Norman figured most everyone was either back in their rooms passed out or hugging the toilet. There had been a LOT of drunk people in the crowd tonight. He saw Jeff, Greg and Tom sitting at the end of the bar.

"Well look who finally made it," Jeff said, throwing his arm around Norman's shoulder.

Norman took a seat on the end beside Jeff. He watched Chloe as she ran back and forth down the bar attended to customers. She looked cute with her hair pulled back in a messing bun. He watched as she closed out customer's tab. He could tell the man tried to hit on her because she gave him a look that said "I will cut your dick off if you don't get out of my face." That made him smile.

She made her way to their end of the bar.

"What'll it be," she asked.

"I was wondering if you'd managed to stick your other foot in your mouth yet," he asked with a grin.

"Not yet, but the night is still young," she replied.

"Well, guess I'll have a Corona then," Norman chuckled.

Chloe placed the beer in front of him. Ian, the promoter had come behind the bar. Norman watched as he said something to Chloe that really pissed her off. She was very animated when talking to him. When he left, Norman could almost see the daggers shooting out of her eyes

"What was that all about?" he asked when she returned to clear away their empty bottles and glasses.

"Oh, nothing," Chloe answered. "Asshole just told me that I would have to work the afternoon shift tomorrow because one of the other bartenders got food poisoning."

"And you had other plans?" Norman asked, wanting to know if she did and who they were with.

"Tomorrow's game day," Chloe said as if that was all the explanation that was needed.

When she saw the confused look in his eyes, she elaborated.

"Duke/UNC basketball game?" she said. Still nothing. "Man, for someone that spends as much time in the south as you do, you know nothing about 'The Battle of the Blues'?"

"Sorry, not a bit sports fan," Norman shrugged a little embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Chloe said.

It was getting late. The bar was starting to clear out. Greg and Tom had left about an hour ago. Norman was still sitting at the bar with Jeff nursing a beer.

"So what's up with you and the bartender?" Jeff asked. "Is she your fling for the weekend?"

"Nah, man. It ain't like that," Norman said. "Besides, I have a feeling it wouldn't be that easy anyway."

"Whatever, dude," Jeff said. "I'm out of here. Tomorrow's going to be a long ass day."

"Alright, I'll catch ya later," Norman said as Jeff patted him on the back.

Chloe started cleaning up when the bartender that had been working with her tonight told her to go on and leave. He knew she had to come back for the afternoon shift and said he'd close up for her.

Norman stood from his seat and walked over to her as she grabbed her stuff.

"Can I walk you to your room?" he asked as they walked out the door.

"I think I can manage on my own," Chloe said. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"I don't know," Norman began. "Drunk zombies are not to be taken lightly."

This made Chloe laugh.

"You have a beautiful laugh," he said in a boyishly shy voice.

"Look," Chloe stopped and turned to look at him. "I'm not really sure what you're thinking, but I'm not a groupie or fan girl or whatever it is they're called these days. I'm not really interested in banging a celebrity just to say I did it."

"I wasn't trying to take you to bed," Norman said. He could feel his face flushing. Chloe raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, I wouldn't have stopped it if it had happened, but that wasn't my initial reason." Chloe kept giving him that skeptical look. "Ok, ok, maybe the thought did cross my mind when I first saw you, but after talking to you some, I really just want to get to know you better."

Chloe could tell he was embarrassed and having a hard time with this, and she was loving it.

"I need to go," she said. "Besides, nothing good ever happens once the bars close, or nothing you don't end up regretting the next morning at least."

Norman watched as she walked away from him towards her room. Then a brilliant idea struck him. He went back to the bar to make is request before returning to his room and passing out for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chloe woke to her cabin phone ringing. It was Ian saying that she would be bartending for a private party this afternoon instead of in the bar. When she tried to argue her way out of it, Ian said that guest had personally requested her. _Great, I just hope they're not expecting me to do anything other than sling drinks,_ she thought to herself.

From the looks of the unmade bed beside hers, Chase must've already met someone. Chloe groaned out in annoyance as she got up and showered. She really was going to make him pay for this weekend.

Ian and given Chloe the room number and told her to be there at 1:00. Chloe made her way down the hall after going through a couple of security guards that had already been informed of her arrival.

She nervously knocked on the door. She didn't know what to expect or even who had requested her to bartend at a private party. Needless to say she was a little shocked when the door opened and saw Norman standing in the doorway with a big goofy grin on his face.

"What the hell?" she asked.

"Come in," he said as he opened the door a little further so she could enter the room.

Chloe looked around the empty suite. "I thought I was bartending a private party," she said.

"I told Ian last night that I was hosting a small get together and needed a bartender," Norman said. "I told him I wanted you since you were so good."

Chloe eyed him suspiciously. "So where is everyone?"

"It's just me and you," he said kinda proud of his plan.

"Yeah, ok," Chloe said slowly backing towards the door. "I don't know what all you're into, but I'm not going to be 'hired' to do weird shit for or to you."

It was only when she reached out for the door handle that Norman realized how bad this all looked.

"No, it's not like that," he rushed to her and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me," Chloe said through gritted teeth.

"No, I swear, it's not like that," Norman voice was almost panicky. "I told Ian that so you wouldn't have to work in the bar and you could watch the game."

Chloe stopped trying to pull away from him. "Wait, let me get this straight. You told Ian that you wanted me to bartend at your private 'get together' so I could watch the game?"

"Yeah," he nodded as relief washed over his face at her understanding.

"Why?" she asked, taking him by surprise.

"I just wanted to do something nice," he said defensively. "Can't a person just do something nice for you?"

"Ok," she said. "But I'm still not having sex with you."

"Fine," he said rolling his eyes in exaggeration and throwing his hands up as they both laughed.

Norman was fully entertained watching the game with Chloe. Although he didn't follow sports like most people, he did like catching a good game every now and then. He would take his son to Knicks games a few times a year. This was completely different though. This was definitely the biggest rivalry he had ever seen. Watching Chloe shout obscenities at the big screen TV and get frustrated every time UNC missed a free throw was funny. She really got into these games.

After it was over with a UNC loss, Chloe sulked on the sofa for a while. He could tell she was going to be pissy the rest of the night. He kind of felt sorry for any customer that crossed her at the bar tonight.

"I should go," she finally said. "I need to get ready for my shift tonight."

"Yeah, we have a meet & greet with photo ops down there later," Norman said.

"Oh goody," Chloe jumped up and down in mock excitement. "I get to deal with a bunch of drunk, horny women. Lovely."

"Hey, at least they're not grabbing your ass," Norman said laughing.

"Oh, you know you love it," she said as she made her way to the door.

"Thank you for today," she said. Without even thinking about it she reached up and gave him a hug. Man, did he smell good.

"No problem," he said hugging her back. She was the perfect height, her head just reaching his shoulder.

"Guess I'll see you later," Chloe said as she left him standing in the doorway.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chloe had been right. The bar was packed with scantily clad women swaying from the effects of alcohol. She couldn't believe how some of them just threw themselves at the actors. It was like a guy's wet dream. There's no way in hell Norman didn't eat this shit up.

"Hey Chloe," Chase called from the end of the bar. "Are you having fun yet?"

"So who did you shack up with last night?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, some guy I met by the pool during the panels last night," Chase said with an all-knowing grin on his face. _Yeah, he definitely got laid last night,_ Chloe thought to herself.

"See Mr. Wonderful again tonight?" she asked.

"Don't know yet," he said. "Depends on how long this thing lasts here."

The two friends stood and watched the chaos around them. Girls were screaming and crying all around. Chloe didn't know how Norman and his cast mates lived with all of this day-to-day. Granted his daily life wasn't as crazy as a convention, but still to have that much attention on you all the time. It must be nerve wracking.

"So have you and Reedus over there bumped uglies yet?" Chase asked.

"Chase, when are you going to grow up?" she said. "And no, we haven't and I don't plan on it either."

"But you do like him," he said grinning from ear to ear.

"I will admit that he's not the pretentious asshole that I may have first though," she said as she looked at Norman taking a selfie with a fan. "But it doesn't really matter if I like him or not, I'm never going to see him again after tomorrow."

"Never say never," Chase said.

"Oh, yeah, like some big TV star is going to come to North Carolina and sweep me off my feet. They would just get the biggest kick out of that at work," she said. "Let's try living in the real world here, ok, Chase?"

"You take all the fun out of everything," he said. "It won't kill ya to think positive for once."

"Yeah, well thinking THAT positive will only lead to THAT much of a disappointment."

 **I'm still writing, but wanted to post the first bit up to see what y'all think. I wanted to write something where the female character was just your normal every day woman.**

 **I promise I will get back to Daryl and Stella, probably this week. I haven't decided how far into the show's plot I want to take the story.**

 **I'm also still working on a BDS story. Will hopefully be ready to post some of that soon (since St. Paddy's Day is coming up)**

 **Again, please comment** **J** **I love hearing from y'all.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm still writing, but wanted to post the first bit up to see what y'all think. I wanted to write something where the female character was just your normal every day woman.**

 **I promise I will get back to Daryl and Stella, probably this week. I haven't decided how far into the show's plot I want to take the story.**

 **I'm also still working on a BDS story. Will hopefully be ready to post some of that soon (since St. Paddy's Day is coming up)**

 **Again, please comment** **J** **I love hearing from y'all.**

Chapter 6

The night started winding down. Chloe started cleaning up and restocking behind the bar. The place had all but cleared out except for a small group of women still hoping for that special invite back to one of the actors' rooms. Norman was sitting at the end of the bar looking exhausted. Chase took a seat next to him as he waited for Chloe.

"So what's up with your girl?" Norman asked. "Is she always this perky and bubbly?"

Chase laughed. "Nah, man. She's just had a couple of bad relationships that made her jaded. She's very mistrustful of the male species. She actually used to be the life of the party. Now, she thinks she's constantly gotta be this responsible 'adult'."

Norman nodded. He knew how a bad relationship could fuck with your head.

"Look man, I don't know what your agenda is here," Chase began in all seriousness. "If you're just looking to get in her pants, well, that's never gonna happen. The woman has some serious will power." Norman grinned. He definitely knew that. He had tried several times to put the moves on her. Even his boyishly shy act had no effect on her and that usually works with all the ladies.

"But if you really want to be friends and hang out with her and be willing to put forth some MAJOR effort, once you break through and she does trust you, she'll be the best friend in the world. That woman is loyal to the end and will do anything in the world for those that she cares about. Whoever does finally warm that heart of hers will be the luckiest man on the planet."

Norman admired the way Chase was talking about Chloe. He could tell that Chase really thought a lot of her and their friendship. He had a couple of people in his life like that and knew he wouldn't be where he was today without them.

He suddenly started feeling shitty about some of the choices he'd made in is life. He wasn't perfect. True he had thought about what type of woman he wanted to fuck this weekend before he arrived. There was always plenty of willing women to choose from at these conventions. He was more of a "no strings attached" kind of person anyway. He didn't have time for the hassle of a relationship. He really couldn't even do "friends with benefits" anymore as they ended up in disaster as well. Listening to Chase talk about his friend, he started wondering what it would be like to have a woman like that in his life.

"I'm gonna head out," Norman said as he rose off his bar stool. "Take care, man." He shook Chase's hand and walked to the other end of the bar to tell Chloe "goodnight".

"Hey," Norman said, getting Chloe's attention.

"What's up," she asked leaning against the bar.

"Don't know if I'll get to see you tomorrow," he said. "Could I maybe get your number and call you sometime?"

"Yeah, sure," Chloe scoffed. "Why not?"

She gave him her number, knowing full well she'd never hear from him. He programmed her number in his phone and came around the bar to give her a hug. He was surprised that she didn't pull away, but she didn't linger either.

"It was nice meeting you, Chloe," he said with sincerity.

"It was nice meeting you too, Norman," she said.

Chloe woke up the next morning with Chase snoring away in the next bed. They had to pack up soon in order to make their flight home. She conceded that it wasn't the worst weekend she had ever had. She actually did have a little bit of fun, not the type of fun Chase was wanting her to have, but still, at least she hadn't stayed home eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream all weekend. That was an improvement.

Chloe didn't see Norman before she and Chase had to leave. She was a little bummed though. After a short flight out of Miami, she was back home. She had a 3-bedroom house out in the country. It had an open kitchen and wrap around porch. The house had been in her family for generations. When her grandparents passed away, she was fortunate enough to be able to buy the house with a little help from her parents. Chloe had a 16-year-old son that lived with his dad, but stayed with her every other weekend and some during summer vacation. Of course now that he had his license and the social life of a high schooler, those visits were becoming less frequent.

Chloe walked in and was greeted by her two dogs. Her mom and taken care of them while she was out of town. They were very excited that mom was home. She took them out in the back yard and let them run around as she started on her laundry. Monday morning was approaching fast and she needed to prepare for the upcoming week.

It didn't take Norman long to get home. Fortunately he was just flying back to Georgia instead of New York. They started filming for the upcoming season in a couple of weeks. He was glad to be staying in one place for a little while. He loved to travel and see new places, but it wore a person down after a while.

Norman was greeted by his black cat, Eye. He checked the house over to make sure Eye hadn't thrown up or shit somewhere he shouldn't have. He tends to get an attitude when Norman's gone for more than a day and let's his daddy know he's not happy being left alone.

After cleaning up so vomit in his closet, Norman started a load of laundry and went to take a shower. He planted himself in a lounge chair on the back deck and watched the sun fade from the sky. He loved the quiet and peacefulness of the country. He loved New York too, but being here in Georgia was different. It was calming after a chaotic couple of months.

Norman thought about calling Chloe. He wondered if she would even answer his call. He thought about what Chase had said the other night. _What are my intentions?_ He thought. He was only looking for someone to share his bed over the weekend, wasn't he? If that were the case, then why didn't he just move on when she rejected him that first night?

"No, I'll wait and call her over the weekend," he said to Eye who was curled up in his lap purring. "C'mon fucker, let's go to bed."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chloe had had a terrible week at work. The whole week she was constantly putting out fires. It was the end of the month so she had so many reports due. She sat in a small cubicle 40 plus hours a week staring at spreadsheets. Her job sucked, but she was good at it. She had finally made it to Friday and had the night off from the bar, although she would be pulling a double shift on Saturday.

When she got home, she decided on a liquid dinner and poured a glass of wine. As soon as she got changed into her comfy clothes (pajama pants & tank top), her phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID and didn't recognize the number. She figured it was a telemarketer, but those numbers usually began with (888). This number started with a real area code. She decided to answer.

"Hello?" she said hesitantly.

"Uh, Chloe?" the male voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, who's this?" she asked thinking it might be one of Chase's friends looking for him.

"Um, this is Norman," the voice said.

Holy shit! Chloe about dropped her glass on the floor.

"Oh, um hey," she said baffled at the fact that he was calling.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Norman asked.

"If you mean by 'bad time' me sitting here downing a bottle of wine, trying to forget the week from hell, then no, you didn't catch me at a bad time," she said.

Norman laughed. "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty bad, but I don't want to talk about, hence, bottle of wine," she said. "So, it's Friday night. You're not out at some fabulous Hollywood party with some supermodel?" _Jeez, Chloe, where did that come from?_

"Uh, no," Norman chuckled. "I'm actually in Georgia. We start filming next week on the new season. I spend my time down here and at home in New York. I'm not big on the 'fabulous Hollywood' scene."

"Ah, but the supermodel?" Chloe egged him on.

"There's been one or two in the past," he said. "But nothing at the moment." She highly doubted that.

Chloe poured another glass of wine and settled into her sofa. She and Norman continued talking. He told her about his son and she told him about hers, realizing they were the same age.

"Does he think he knows everything?" Chloe asked him.

"Oh, you have no idea," Norman said. "Don't get me wrong, he's a good kid, but in his world he knows it all and his mom and I know nothing."

"Yeah, I can relate," Chloe said. "I have to apologize to my parents every day now that I have a teenager that acts a lot like I did."

Norman laughed. "God, I hope Mingus doesn't start acting the way I did when I was that age. I'd go crazy!"

They both laughed and shared stories of their youth. Norman told her about the time he lived in Japan and she told him about the time she got arrested for underage drinking at Myrtle Beach.

Before she knew it, it was almost midnight and she had emptied the bottle of wine. Norman could tell that bottle of wine was gone as Chloe's words began slurring a little.

"It's late," he said. "And it sounds like you need to go to bed."

"Umm hmm," was all Chloe could muster.

"Make sure you take two aspirin and drink a glass of water before you go to bed. It'll help with the hangover tomorrow," he instructed.

"Thanks," she grumbled out, eyes half closed.

"Can I call you again?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. "I'd like that."

"Get some sleep. Talk to you soon. Goodnight."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chloe woke up with her head pounding. She was still on the sofa, her phone on the floor. She slowly stood up, trying to prevent the room from spinning and went to the bathroom. As she was splashing water on her face and brushing her teeth, she started to remember the dream she had.

 _I can't believe I dreamt about Norman Reedus._ She thought to herself. She had dreamt he called her and they talked on the phone all night. When she was done in the bathroom, she went to the kitchen to make some coffee. That's when she heard her phone alert to a text message.

 _Hope you don't feel to crappy today ~N_

What the fuck! She checked her call log and saw that in fact, she was on the phone for several hours last night with a number she didn't recognize, the same number that just texted her.

 _I do, but it ain't the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last time I'm hungover_

 _What are you doing today? ~N_

 _Working at the bar this afternoon and tonight. You?_

 _Wardrobe fitting and rehearsals ~N_

 _Fun_

 _Call you tomorrow? ~N_

 _K. Just not too early_ _J_

 _K. ~N_

Chloe could not believe it. What the hell was she doing? She called Chase and asked him to come over so she could run through everything with him. She couldn't talk to any of her girlfriends about this since this wasn't your typical guy.

"So let me get this straight," Chase said as soon as he walked into Chloe's living room. "You asking me, what I think you should do because one of the sexiest men in America, hell the WORLD, even, is calling and texting you?"

"Um, yeah," Chloe said it almost like a question.

"Honey, you know what I would do," Chase said. "Actually, there a several things I would do, and none of them involve clothing."

"Chase, I'm serious," Chloe said. "It's really starting to freak me out."

"You're over thinking it," he said. "All you did was talk on the phone once and text. It's not like you're getting engaged to the man. Just go with the flow and see where it goes. If anything, you could end up with a really cool friend to hang out with, although you already have me." Chase pulled her into a hug. "You're just pissed he wasn't scared by your charming personality." That got him a slap to the back of the head.

Chloe had calmed down by the time she went to work. Chase was right. She normally scared men off with her bluntness and she was more than fine with that. She just couldn't understand why Norman kept coming around. She knew he was hitting on her that first day they had met. But after she turned him down, she figured he'd get the message and leave her alone. He hadn't though. So either he was one fucked up individual who had nothing better to do than to wear down a woman in another state just to get in her pants, or he really just wanted to talk and get to know her. She opted for the second choice. There's no way anyone would spend that amount of time and energy for sex when it was so readily available.

Work wasn't too bad. Chloe got to watch some of the basketball games during the day and Chase and his friends came in that night. By the time she got home, she collapsed into bed. She almost didn't hear her phone ring as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"This better not be a booty call because I sure as hell ain't driving to Georgia," Chloe said.

"So if I was closer, you would drive over?" Norman chuckled.

"I didn't say that either," she said smiling into the phone. She hated the fact she was actually happy to hear his voice.

"Well, I'm not calling for that," he said. "Just wanted to make sure you got home ok."

"Well aren't you sweet," Chloe said with a hint of sarcasm.

"I have my moments," Norman said. "How was work? Anything exciting happen?"

"Define exciting," she said.

"Oh, you know, bar fights, walking in on people fucking in the bathroom, typical shit," he said.

"No, nothing like that. It was a pretty tame night," she said.

"Alright. Get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow," Norman said.

"It is tomorrow," Chloe reminded him.

"You know what I mean," he laughed.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Norman did call later that day and they talked again for hours. It was a seamless conversation with no awkward silences and not getting into anything too personal. In fact, over the next few weeks, they talked almost every day. On the days that they didn't talk, they would text off and on.

Chloe was starting to enjoy her talks with Norman. He was funny. He had her laughing so hard at some of his antics she almost peed herself. She kept Chase up to date on their friendship. Chase still picked on her about how she would eventually end up sleeping with him. But Chloe kept insisting that they were just friends.

She had stopped seeing Norman as the "celebrity" he was. When they talked on the phone he was just some guy she met on a cruise. Even when he would tell her stories about some of his famous friends, it wasn't like he was name-dropping to impress her. They could've been stories about any group of friends.

"So you've never watched the show?" Norman asked her one night.

"Nope," she said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Zombies just aren't my thing," she said.

"And what is your 'thing'?" he asked.

"I was always more into the vampires and werewolves," she began. "That was until that woman that wrote Twilight ruined it all."

Norman laughed. "So you don't like the vampires that sparkle?"

"Um, no," she said. "I like vampires that actually have fangs and kill people."

"I think you'd like the show. It's not all about zombies," he said.

"I might catch in on Netflix one weekend when I have absolutely nothing else to do," she said.

"Oh, gee, thanks," Norman said sounding like a wounded animal. "Glad to know where I come in at on your list of priorities."

"Oh poor baby," she mocked.

Norman was already halfway done with filming the current season. He couldn't believe how quickly the time was flying by. He pretty much spent all of his time working. When he wasn't working he was talking to Chloe. He looked forward to their talks. He wished that she lived closer so they could actually see each other and hang out. They pretty much knew everything about each other. The only subject they hadn't touched yet was relationships. He had tried to casually bring it up once, but she ended the phone call rather abruptly, saying that her dogs were about to fight over a sock.

He didn't exactly know how he felt about her. He hadn't dated anyone in a while and since they had started talking, he hadn't wanted to hook up with anyone either. Jeff would give him a hard time at work saying he was turning into Andy. Norman didn't care though. He liked staying home, talking to Chloe. On the nights that he did have to go out to make an appearance somewhere, he found himself texting her.

He would be finished with filming in a few weeks and wanted to drive up and see her, but he had to fly out to Arizona to film a movie. It was his first leading role in a romance/drama, something way out of his comfort zone. He told Chloe about it and she was really excited for him.

"You need to branch out. Take a chance on a non-badass role for once." She had said.

"How do you know I only play badass roles?" he asked. "Have you been watching my movies?" he teased.

"I may have seen one or two," she answered. She wasn't going to admit that she'd seen every one of them and even owned a few on DVD. She tended to pause it on scenes of his bare ass, but she'd keep that to herself.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When Norman arrived at his hotel, the first thing he did was call Chloe. As soon as she answered he knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked. He could tell she was crying.

"Nothing, it's stupid," she said sniffling. "Wait, did you just call me babe?"

"Um, first of all, why are you crying?" he said, completely caught off guard by his slip. "Secondly, uh, yeah, I called you babe." He was so glad she couldn't see how red his face was right at the moment.

"It's nothing," she said. "It's embarrassing."

"You think you're embarrassed right now?" he asked.

"Ok, you have point," she said. "Which we will get back to in just a minute. I was just watching something on TV that made me sad."

"What were you watching?" Norman asked trying to remain off of the subject of calling Chloe "babe".

"I may have just watched Sophia come out of the barn as a walker," Chloe confessed.

"Ah, so you finally decided to watch it," Norman said teasing.

"Oh, shut up," Chloe said, annoyed that he was enjoying this way too much.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Just giving you a hard time. So what do you think?"

"Oh, no," she said. "You're not getting off the hook that easy."

"Damn, so close," he whispered. "It just kinda slipped out."

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna bust your balls," Chloe said. She was uncomfortable talking about feelings or anything remotely similar. She thought Norman was a little uncomfortable with that type of stuff too. To be honest, she tried not to think too much about her feelings for him. She definitely found him attractive, who wouldn't? And she liked talking to him, even looked forward to his calls and texts. She still had her reservations though. She had been hurt too many times in the past and made a vow to herself to never put herself in situations like that again.

They were both silent for a moment. Norman was scared she would end the call at any moment. He didn't mean to call her "babe". It really did just slip out. He knew better than to call her "sweetheart". He learned from that mistake. Plus he called everyone "sweetheart". He didn't really call anyone "babe" unless it was a good friend. He called Melissa "babe" and Danai "babe".

He and Chloe had been talking for over 6 months now, practically every day. He thought about her constantly, always wanting to ask her opinion on something or wondering what she was doing. He had to admit, no one ever made him feel the way he feels about her. She calls him on his bullshit, but also makes him feel good about himself when he's feeling insecure, like with this new movie he was getting ready to start. There's no way in hell he would've agreed to it without Chloe's pep talks and support.

Norman cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Can I ask you something without you getting mad?"

"You can ask me, but I can't guarantee I won't get mad," Chloe said, curious as to what he wanted.

"Why aren't you involved with anyone?" There, he opened that can of worms. Now he'd have to wait and see if she would open up to him or hang up and never speak to him again.

"I don't know," she said softly. "I just haven't met anyone I'm interested in."

"Um, if I didn't already know that was a bullshit excuse, I might be offended," he said trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm just don't believe in relationships, romance or even love for that matter," she confessed.

"Did you use to?" She didn't hang up on him. He wasn't going to let this go.

"Maybe, once upon a time ago," she said.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Look Norman, I really don't want to talk about this, especially with you," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked a little defensively.

"I didn't mean to offend you," she said. "I just don't like talking about my past failures in relationships with anyone, much less some stranger I met on a cruise ship."

"Oh, so I'm just a stranger now?" he was getting offended and a little hurt.

"I didn't mean it like that," she said.

"Then how did you mean it," he asked.

"Look, I think we both just need to call it a night," she said. "You have a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah, guess so," he said knowing this conversation wasn't going any further. Chloe had already shut down.

"Good night," she said.

"Night."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chloe felt like the biggest bitch that walked the planet. Why couldn't she just tell him that she liked him and that instead of talking to him every day she wanted to see him every day, spend time with him. She always thought how it would go when they would see each other for the first time again. She envisioned him picking her up in a big hug. She still remembered the way he smelled when she hugged him that one day. How her head rested perfectly on his broad shoulder.

She was acting like a childish schoolgirl. She was a grown woman, damn it! She needed to get over her shit and move on. But if only it were that easy. She went to bed, but tossed and turned all night.

When the morning came, Chloe decided to give up on sleep. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and checked her messages. Nothing. She took a deep breath and started a text.

 _Sorry about last night. You know I don't think of you as just a stranger. Good luck today ~C_

She got up and began her day. She had the day off, which now she was regretting. She didn't want to sit around all day waiting for a text or call from Norman that she thought would never come. She had to keep herself busy.

Norman got her text first thing that morning. He wanted to text her back, but thought it'd be best to call when he didn't have to run off to work. He decided he would call her tonight after he was done filming for the day. He would spend all night on the phone with her if she wanted to. He wished she were here with him. After their argument last night, he wanted nothing more than to lay in bed with her, hold her and tell her he was sorry for being a jerk, sorry for pushing.

He got in the shower and got ready to go to set. Today was the first day of filming and he had to do a love scene right off the bat. He had done love scenes before, but not as intense as this one. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. But even seeing Chloe's text this morning, put him a little at ease.

Chloe cleaned her house from top to bottom. By the time she was done, it was beginning to get dark. She was worn out. She took a shower and put on her comfy clothes. She decided she would continue her binge watch of The Walking Dead, even if did make her think of Norman. She couldn't believe how much he had changed since those first couple of seasons. He looked so young back then, and it wasn't that long ago. Just when Carl put a bullet in Shane's skull, Chloe's phone rang.

"I am so glad someone shot that douchebag," was the first thing she said.

"Ah, up to that point are we," Norman said.

"How did everything go today," Chloe asked.

"It went good," he said. "A little nerve wracking."

"I'm sure you did great," she said. _Always being supportive,_ Norman thought.

"Look, about last night," Norman began.

"Stop, before you say anything," Chloe interrupted. She had made up her mind to go for broke, it's all or nothing.

"I used to believe in relationships, romance, love, whatnot," she began. Norman remained silent. He didn't want to interrupt her and give her a reason to pull back again.

"I've been in love twice, well I think it was twice," she said. "The first time was with a guy I had been friends with before we got together. He had been in a relationship when we first met. I didn't even think of him in that way. We were all friends and hung out together. Our paths crossed again after he and his girlfriend had broken up. We started seeing each other and were together for about 5 months. The relationship was fucked up from the get go." Chloe paused for a moment.

Norman, sensing she was searching for her words, encouraged her to continue.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"I was really messed up back then. I spent the majority of my time partying, drinking and doing drugs, mainly coke and X. We both were high during that whole relationship. At the time I thought I did love him. When he left me and I found out later that his ex-girlfriend wasn't so much an 'ex' the whole time we were together, it hurt like I loved him. Now I realize I was so fucked up in my own shit, I don't really think I could've loved anyone at that time."

"What ever happened to him?" Norman asked. He could tell there was more to the story.

"He ended up marrying his girlfriend and divorced after a year. After several years, we actually tried being friends again. But he was still using. I had already gotten my shit together and couldn't be around that. I told him I couldn't see him or be around him and he respected my wishes. A few years later he died of a heroine overdose."

"I'm sorry," Norman said. He really was too. He was no stranger to heartbreak, but he could only imagine the feelings and pain would be amplified by drugs. Norman wished he were there with her now. He could tell it was difficult for her to bring up the past. He wanted to hold her and comfort her.

"Look, if you don't want to talk about this anymore tonight, I'd understand," Norman said. He didn't want to push her too far. She took a big chance opening up to him this much. He knew it wasn't easy for her and he felt honored that she felt she could start trusting him. He thought back to what Chase had told him that night about the man that would one day get her to open up and trust again would be the luckiest man on earth and right now he did feel like that. It had been so long since he had even cared whether or not a woman trusted him.

"No, I want to," Chloe said. "The other one isn't nearly as dramatic anyway. He was some guy I worked with at the time. We were together for 2 years. We had been friends longer and he was around during my previous relationship. He had been a good friend to me during that time and things just kind of progressed from there. He ended up moving away to finish school. About a year later he got married. We kept in touch for a while after that, but like everything else in life, just moved on. I'm not sure where he's at now or what he's doing."

"Afterwards, during what Chase would call my 'fun' years, I was going out a lot, hooking up with guys. I would stick with one guy for a month or two and move on to the next one. I figured if I wasn't good enough to marry I could at least have some fun. But I always felt like shit the next morning. Felt like a used piece of garbage," Chloe continued.

Chloe's words struck a chord with Norman. He thought about the countless one-night stands he'd had and wondered if those women felt the same way after a night with him. When you're in the moment like that, you don't really think about those things. He felt like a total creep. He didn't deserve this woman's friendship, trust or respect.

"One of those 2 month 'relationships' produced my son," Chloe said. "I thought I might could work on a real relationship with his dad, but the only thing that interested me was his dick. We had nothing in common and to be quite frank, he's kinda a dipshit. Once my son was born though, I realized I didn't need any of that. I was perfectly capable of making it on my own. I guess you could say that's when I grew up."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The following week went by fast. Norman and Chloe had brief conversations and continued texting, but there were no deep, serious discussions since that night. He tried to talk Chloe into visiting him, but she kept declining. She was scared and to be honest, he was too. He didn't know how to deal with these newfound feelings. He knew he really liked Chloe and wanted to see her, spend time with her, not just over the phone. Her birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks, which gave him an idea.

Norman had the weekend off and flew into that Thursday night. The next day he hopped on his bike and made the 4-hour drive to North Carolina. Chase had given him directions to Chloe's house and Norman planned to be there when she got home from work.

Chloe was counting down the minutes to 5:00. It had been a long day and she was ready to get home. She had the weekend off from the bar since it was her birthday Saturday and was looking forward to a weekend of doing absolutely nothing. She had been thinking about Norman a lot. She had thought about flying out to see him this weekend, but she didn't have the money and couldn't accept his offer to pay for her flight.

As soon as 5:00 rolled around it was like a mass exodus out of the building. Chloe gathered her things in her backpack and walked outside. It was a beautiful spring day. The days were starting to get longer. She had the windows down on the drive home with Foo Fighters blasting from the radio. When she pulled into her driveway, she noticed a motorcycle parked in it, but didn't think anything of it. She knew several people that rode. It wasn't until she got out of the car that she saw HIM sitting on the top porch step.

Chloe's heart began to pound. She thought it was going to burst out of her chest any moment. She sat there with the car still running for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Norman saw her pull in and suddenly began fidgeting. He stood up and walked down the porch steps to stand of the sidewalk leading to the driveway. He had a bouquet of wild flowers in his hand that he picked up at a local florist shop. He began biting his thumbnail on his other hand. He felt like a teenager about to ask the most popular girl in school out on a date.

He watched her get out of the car and slowly walk towards him. He couldn't tell if she was happy or not to see him. She had a dazed look on her face. When she was standing in front of him, he could see her eyes well up with tears. He immediately thought he made the wrong decision to come surprise her. He didn't want to upset her. They stood there staring at one another for a moment. Then Norman was completely caught off guard when Chloe wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder in a hug. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and bent his head into the crook of her neck. He felt his eyes water as well.

They stood there, holding each other for several minutes, neither one wanting to let go. It wasn't until the sound of Chloe's dogs going ape shit over their mom being home that they finally broke apart.

"Happy Birthday," Norman said as he handed her the flowers.

Chloe wiped a single tear off her cheek. "Thank you."

Norman grabbed his jacket and backpack off of the porch and followed her into the house. He was immediately greeted by 2 medium sized dogs circling his legs and sniffing anything within reach.

"Berkeley and Bailey, outside," Chloe commanded causing the 2 canines to run to the back door. Before she could get the door open all the way they both bolted outside.

"I'm going to put these in some water," Chloe began. "Please make yourself at home."

She pulled a vase from an overhead cabinet and began filling it with water from the kitchen sink. Norman was watching her every move and noticed her hands shaking. Once she had the flowers arranged, he walked up behind her and gently grabbed her arm to turn her around. He wrapped his arms around her again into a hug. He noticed then that it wasn't just her hands that were shaking.

Chloe snaked her arms around his waist, both hands grasped the back of his t-shirt like she was afraid he would disappear. Norman ran his fingers through her hair trying to calm her, although he wouldn't have been surprised if she felt him shiver as well.

Chloe pulled away just enough to look up into those beautiful blue eyes. She cleared her throat, finding her voice.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice just as shaky.

"I needed to see you," Norman said, his voice quiet and soft. "Is that ok?"

Chloe nodded.

Norman brought his hand to cup her face and gently ran his thumb across her cheek as he stared into her hazel eyes. He bent his head forward so they were practically nose-to-nose. He heard Chloe's breath hitch as he leaned in and kissed her.

Chloe released the grasp she had on the back of Norman's t-shirt and softly ran her hands up towards his broad shoulders. Norman still had one hand cupping her face while the other was rubbing her back as he placed soft, open-mouthed kisses against her lips. Even though they were sweet, gentle kisses, she could still feel her toes curl.

Norman kissed the tip of her nose and pressed his forehead to hers. They continued to stand there in their embrace until the dogs started whining at the back door wanting to be fed.

While Chloe took care of her pets, they had decided to stay in for the night, order pizza and watch a movie. Norman took a shower while Chloe waited for the pizza. They talked while they ate, Chloe telling Norman a few funny stories from the bar. Norman told Chloe about the movie he was working on. She laughed when he told her he had to wear a cowboy hat.

"I just can't picture you in a cowboy hat," she giggled.

After they ate, Chloe went to take her shower while Norman looked for a movie to watch. When she came out of the bathroom in her sleep pants and tank top, she saw Norman standing at the foot of her bed with the remote in his hand. He had that eat shit grin plastered on his face.

"I was trying to find a movie for us to watch," he said, not letting up on that grin. "You can imagine my surprise when I turned the TV on and this popped up." He motioned toward the TV screen as Chloe walked further into the room and turned around to see what he was looking at.

"Oh God," she said, her hands immediately covering her face.

There on the screen was the shower scene from Boondock Saints II. But the scene was paused on Norman's naked backside.

"This your favorite part?" he asked teasing.

"I'm going to go crawl in a hole and die right now," Chloe said, her face the brightest shade of red as she started walking back towards the bathroom. She would stay in there the rest of the weekend.

"Oh no you don't," Norman said. He grabbed her by the arm and picked her up from behind. Chloe's legs began kicking outward.

"Put me down," she squealed.

"Alright, if that's what you want," Norman said mischievously and threw her on the bed. He quickly jumped on top of her and began tickling her sides.

"Lass, if ye wanted to see me arse, all ye had to do was ask," he said in that Murphy McManus Irish accent.

"Get off of me," Chloe yelled through laughter and she was hitting him in the shoulders trying to push him off.

Norman finally stopped tickling her before she peed all over herself. It was then that they realized their position. Chloe laid on her back with Norman on top of her from waist up. His crotch was pushed against her hip. Their faces were a mere inch apart and they both were panting heavily from their playing around. Norman had both hands on either side of her head holding himself up so he could look at her. Chloe's arms were resting by her sides.

Neither one of them were quite sure what to do. Chloe wanted him, but was frozen out of fear. Norman definitely wanted her as the bulge pressed against her hip was any indication but he didn't want to push her if she wasn't ready. Almost simultaneously, they both made up their minds. As Chloe lifted her hands to the sliver of exposed skin on Norman's sides from his raised t-shirt, she raised her head towards his. At the same time he bent his head down and met her lips with his.


End file.
